Calamity Dogs Mech X Mecha
by Rodhan
Summary: What if the worlds of Armored Core,Heavy Gear, Mechwarrior and all the great mecha series' took place in the same universe? You would get the biggest mech brawl this side of Solaris VII. The first in a hopeful series of short stories.
1. Chapter 1

Mecha X

The sun peaked above the horizon. The darkness of space gave way to the blue oceans below. The dropship floated above the atmosphere with its back toward the Earth. The jet black arrowhead slipped silently with its partners through the defense satellite network. The klaxon blared once they entered the atmosphere. Bolts of blue and white streaked across their bows as the low orbit cannons fired upon them.

Inside their bellies were dozens of hulking metal soldiers. Rider Three contained a pair Black Mamba field artillery Gears, two Zephyrs wanzers and a platoon of six Calamity Dogs. Their digital camouflage was uniformly chaotic under the rotating golden caution lights. The dormant machines soon whirred to life with the sound of gears and motors spinning up.

The dropships burned through the clouds like fiery comets. The air rushed past the wings with friction causing particulates to burst into flames , leaving a trail of embers behind it. The cargo bay opened its scorched doors and a rush of air pulled fiercely on the warmachines. They began to roll down towards the may , one by one. The locking clamps burst open in explosions. Rockets on the back of the first Calamity Dog ignited, sending it hurtling out of the bay. Once out ,the rockets disconnected and the Calamity Dog entered freefall. The rest soon followed.

The hell jumpers were soon joined by their compatriots from the other two drop ships. They formed an armored shadow against the blue and gray sky. Rider Three company quickly reached terminal velocity where upon tiny thrusters stored into curved modules lining their bodies began to fire off. They drifted into an X formation as the sun broke through the clouds and cast its light over them.

The jungle quickly approached the hell jumpers. Pods on the machines opened up to reveal several parachutes. The descent was forceful as the momentum of a hundred tons of reinforced armor suddenly slowed. Few of the pilots vomited into their flight decks eve though they were prepared with plenty of motion sickness pills.

Each of them crashed through the jungle canopy. Trees shattered and the ground became craters under their weight. The rhythmic thud of steel boots against wet underbrush rustled through the trees. The C-Dogs spread out into the jungle to sweep for traps and to scout for enemies. The Zephyrs followed while the Bambas , as they were oft called, stood back with their gun sights ready.

Ryuki sat at the edge of his seat . He was the leading point of the arrow moving far deeper into the jungle than the other C-Dogs. The humidity penetrated through the pilots deck and air conditioning system. Small beds of sweat formed on his furrowed brow while his mind paid sharp attention to each sensor readout on his dashboard. His ears were tuned to the sound of the infrared lock klaxon and his body conditioned to slam his C-Dog into the ground.

The sound outside his armored compartment only came through as a light wind but in truth the jungle was reverberating from the thundering steps his machine took. Felled trees crunched under him and squawking birds flew out from their hidden perches. He soon focused his attention to his occular scope and saw far into the distance the tell tale signs of military industry.

Smoke stacks jutted the horizon and billowy clouds of soot and ash seeped out. The low slopped roofs hid deep underground facilities that stretched as far down as the mountains were tall. There, deep below the surface of the Earth , was their true objective, a prototype for the most advanced weapon known to the Federation.

The laser point to point comm clicked followed by a heavily digitized voice. It was his commander, Captain Shiryu, with his distinctive gruff low voice that you would think only would show up in movies. "Ryuki, take your C-Dog team around the perimeter and enter through the dock yard. The Bambas are gonna shell the forward posts and my Zephyrs will lay down covering fire on the other side of the base, at the retaining walls".

The group broke apart into teams. The short and stocky C-Dogs kicked up mud and dirt with their rubberized tracks hidden in their feet. They dodged low trunks and heavy underbrush as they raced through the jungle. The cracking pop of artillary prompted Ryuki to speed up. The ground rocked as the heavy mechs tore through the jungle. The rattling boom of auto-cannons marked the return fire from the base. Their gaze had shifted as expected . On cue, Shiryu's Zephyrs opened fire from the opposite side of the base with cluster rockets and PAC rifles. Stacatto of explosions erupted and a fireball peaked above the low roofs.

A rush of air swept inward towards the base as concussion bombs went off. The trees rippled and leaves tore from the branches. The leaves rushed upward into the air then suddenly stopped. The concussion bombs were only used to set the stage for fuel-air rockets. The high velocity gusts and the liquid accelerants mixed into a giant whirwind of bright red and orange flames. It spread over the buildings and set alight the base. One building collapsed complete but revealed a giant tunnel leading down to the main base.

Ryuki's team was now at the docks behind the battle line. His team retracted their tracks to hide their tracks. They formed into two staggered columns on either side with each column led by shield carrying unit and the other two peaking from the sides a good distance behind it. They moved methodically through the burning structures ,to check for stragglers or guards.

The buildings around them swayed dangerously from the concussive waves of exploding ordinance. It was very apparent that the weak buildings were merely built to hide what was under them. The base itself was fashioned to look like an industrial sea port. The shipping container hoists lined the coast and the docks stretched towards the sea. Recon teams watched the base for weeks to record movement and defenses. For most of the time ships docked and disgorged containers. Most looked to be filled with fruits and vegetables. The event that triggered this mission,though, happened only weeks prior. A ship had docked , like always, to unload cargo. The difference now was the container it had left was bigger than any that had come through before. It was nearly 40 meters per side, a giant cube of reinforced steel. Microwave scans revealed nothing and x-rays couldn't penetrate through the polished stone gray surface.

Though they couldn't peer into its contents , they did know something was inside it. Something energetic enough to blast out waves of highly charged ions. Something inside it was generating a very strong electro-magnetic field, strong enough to ionize the local atmosphere. The leaders chomped at the bit to get this in their hands and so Ryuki's company, the Skull Company , was dispatched to recover it.

Another fuel air explosion erupted above them. The rushing air nearly lifted the off the ground before the thunderous crack of the explosion pushed the down into the ground. The team was now meters away from the shaft. They rushed towards it , knocking down buildings and weapons sheds on their path. The Shield Dogs smashed wall after wall to carve a path for the others.

They reached the gaping maw of the shaft amid rapid succession of explosions. Each C-Dog was equipped with a claw-grapple. The rocket propelled claws exploded from their arms. Each clamped tight onto exposed steel girders. Once the rigging was made firm, they dropped down into the inky abyss.

The nanotube mono-filament cables lay loose as they plummeted towards the bottom. Their high-intensity lights revealed little of their fast changing surroundings until something glinted in the light. They're laser rangefinders showed that they were rapidly approaching a stopped freight elevator with no room to maneuver around it. One of them fired off a heavy grenade from its backpack mounted launcher. The elevator disintegrated but left a burning carcass still hanging. Ryuki opened fire with both his auto-rifle and shoulder-mounted rockets.

The carcass collapsed and their burning remains fell with the hurtling team. The rangefinders rang once more but with the elevator now hurtling down in pieces. It meant the end of the fall. The motors on their grapples ground against the mono-filament cables which brought them to a rapid stop. Above ground, the claws detached to drop down back to their masters. The motors whirred again , applying a rapidly increasing acceleration. The claws violently reunited with the arms in a shower of sparks and crash of plasteel.

The power was intermittent after the vicious bombardment. Lights flickered on, off or just overload. They maintained radio silence as best as possible with the collimated focused beam optical comms. The laser-links could only be opened to one person at a time so we decided to switch to physical communications. Each C-Dog had a tertiary arm, skeletal and thin. It had a magnet ring that would clamp onto the C-Dog chassis. Their voices were transmitted through vibrations and channeled up towards the pilot's nest. The arms locked the disks to the hulls to create a daisy chain that transmitted sound to each armored trooper. The high pitched tinny sound was the most annoying thing I ever heard aside from the sucking sound of a concussion bomb. They tried their best to pay attention to the shrill sound but their ears would soon hear a permanent ring if they spoke too often.

Ryuki took the point and lead the rest of the team towards the location of the immense magnetic field. They cleared rooms and hallways as they normally would but found absolutely no evidence of anyone or any armored walkers had ever been there. Garages were empty and the barracks were unfurnished.

"This is a trap" he said. The others shared his suspicion with morbid expectation. Their AT's rumbled through the vast complex onward towards an expected ambush. Tension built in each of them as time went on. The waiting was fraying their nerves. Ryuki was conflicted, with no resistance it meant that there was no worries of protracted combat. But there was absolutely nothing down there. His shoulders drooped with the burden of burgeoning paranoia.

The floor , though vast, was simple to clear. The floor layout was uniform which helped to speed up their investigation. The final passage way was all that was left to check and Ryuki was sure it led to the magnetized container.

The passage was larger than the others. The walls were of bolted plates and their movement sounded hallow against the floor. A recessed track ran the length of the corridor into the brightness at the end. Their multitude of computers and scanners detected nothing out of the ordinary but a cloud of doubt hung over them.

Craig, the heavy gunner , spoke through the infrared comms to Ryuki with a simple phrase, "a trap". They readied their weapons, an array of mini-howitzers ,guided rockets and shoulder cannons. The toes and heels of the C-Dogs retracted to reveal a series of heavy rubberized tracks. They tore through the corridor with their squealing treads reverberating through the thin walls.

Sounds of thunder permeated through their armored pilot nests. It ebbed until it became a steady crash. Ryuki counted each and noted how regular and arbitrary it sounded. He turned his IR transmitter to Ross, his executive officer. "Something huge is walking around in their. Get everyone to spread out the moment we go through that doorway", he ordered. The message began to pass from Ross to each trooper ,arduously slow.

By now, whoever was making that raucous noise was already ready for them. Their stealthy approach was rendered useless so Ryuki ordered an end to the radio silence. "Alright, once we go through , weapons free. Shoot anything that stands", he said. The doorway now took up his entire viewfinder with its brilliant white light. They passed through the threshold soon after.

The harsh glare of the lights overwhelmed their visual feed. The nest whistled with warnings and alerts. Passive RADAR had picked up a giant object ahead of them. The cameras adjusted to the light and the visual feed finally showed them what was waiting for them.

Inside the giant,cavernous room was a NEXT. The sleek gray White Glint stood before them , bathing them with its awesome might. "Break!" Ryuki yelled. The team shot away from the White Glint when a beam of energy scorched the walls behind them. It boosted up to the roof with its back cannons arrayed like angel wings. They flipped over its shoulders in a wide formation. The cannons fired down a rain of devastation.

The shells raced across the grand chamber , leaving behind swirling trails of super-heated air. Their proximity fuses lit off one by one just over their heads. The subsequent shower of molten shards struck the ground like thousands of spears. To their credit, the small size of the C-Dogs let them maneuver out of the way of the metal spears.

The ground then erupted in flames when the White Glint fired its particle rifle in a scything blast. The ground ahead of them was scorched with a deep cut into the steel plating. The flying Glint soon overheated its jump engines forcing it back down on the ground. Its heavy frame rumbled like thunder. Its off hand gun fired a shell at Ryuki's unit.

The shell exploded in front of him into thousands of tiny spheres. The light reflective off them like drops of water. Ryuki's perception slowed down as he watched his display in horror. His mech was much too slow to dodge the fusillade shot. The legs of his unit gave out as fear gripped him. The unit crashed on its back.

To his amazement, the blast had missed him. But with his systems malfunctioning from the impact , he was paralyzed. His team began to lay down fire. Their guided rockets burst from their pods and racks in a cloud of streaming smoke and fire. Their guns fired volleys of rapid fire shots at the Glint. The rockets arched outside of the path of the gun fire and seamlessly swooped back towards it. All the armaments met the Glint simultaneously in a giant fireball of shrapnel and super heated copper.

Ryuki finally was able to stand up and took the chance to race back towards the back of the team. He needed time to asses the damage before the next strike was to come. For a few moments it seemed that the attack was a success. There was little movement in the dimmed artificial cavern.

The infrared sensors were unable to see its swift movement. The explosion had temporarily blinded their optical sensors. The laser motion detectors were unable to penetrate the cloud of debris and the Doppler microphones were inundated with static from the reflections of the flying shrapnel.

The cloud quickly fell to the floor to reveal their target had disappeared. There was no trace of wreckage, not even a sign that it ever existed. There was a heavy pressure on their shoulders and an exhaustion that afflicted their minds. Their fear intensified and their senses sharpened. Then the walls began to rumble. The sound of steel whining and rivets breaking ricocheted through their heads.

The ground broke up under them violently. The shifting plates tossed the C-Dogs like dolls. Out of the crater flew out the White Glint. Its armor was streaked in dirt and grime from the previous assault. Its mono-eye grew red as if to show the rage brewing inside the pilot. Its angelic wings folded down again and its arms stretched out with their heavy weapons.

The C-Dogs rolled furiously around the ground. Nate , the heavy weapons carrier, unlocked the folding mini-howitzer from its back. In one quick and jarring manuever, its claw arm smashed down against the cannon barrel to force it to lock in place. Its weapon arm gripped the handle and pressed down on the double-throw trigger. The first click of the trigger armed the warhead sitting in the blasting chamber. The second click ignited the blasting charge. The warhead's blue flames erupted out of the barrel before dissipating into the form of the shell.

It's impact was swift and instantaneous. The shell contained a warhead filled with enough explosives to bring down a land crawler tank carrier. The White Glint's body ruptured with red hydraulic fluid pouring out of the cracked armor. Its right arm was torn to shreds and all that was left of its angel wings were sparking stubs of brown metal.

Its jump engines sputtered shut and the Glint crashed down on its knees. Ryuki jostled his controls to force his C-Dog back up. Several hydraulic lines burst which left his claw arm lifeless. The fluid began to leak into the pilots' nest. The machine's bleeding frame began to slow down as the fluid levels dropped. With the last bits of strength left in his machine, he lifted up his auto-rifle and took aim at the core of the Glint. The arm locked up leaving only the manipulator with any amount of motion. The auxillary electric motors in the hand whirred. The trigger finger slammed down and the rifle fired until its ammunition had run out. The core took several shots before the armor broke apart revealing its generator. Its' exposed power cells were hit and the flammable fuel ignited. The consequent explosion knocked back the paralyzed C-Dog like a domino.


	2. Chapter 2

The White Glint was a smoldering mess with white hot flames marking the spot where it once stood. Grey smoke rose up towards the high ceiling. The C-dog units were barely functional. Ryuki's unit was mission killed, unable to do anything useful ever again. It lay in a growing pool of brown hydraulic fluid, like the scene of a gruesome murder.

Ryuki banged on the hatch but it wouldn't open. The pilot deck was slick with a thin layer of fuel, making whatever effort to open the hatch useless. His hands slipped off the handles without any firm footing to work with. The control panel had gone dark and so did the communication equipment. With no way to get out or to call his team, he sat their in the dark with noxious fumes slowly suffocating him.

His vision began to fade as he he slowly drifted from consciousness. Brief regrets surfaced on his mind, the people he left behind and the life he took for granted. He chuckled when he realized his collection of super robot chogokin toys would go unloved. There was a sound of muffled shouting reverberating through the steel cage of his pilot deck. It didn't matter, he thought, it was time to get some shut eye.

Sparks burned through the hatch. Metal blistered and melted as the spark traced the hatch's perimeter. The hinges and locking bolts burst into tiny fires. A loud clang vibrated through the hatch. Silence followed for a few moments before an explosive force blew out the for corners of the hatch. The whining of a massive motor woke Ryuki from his sleep.

The hatch burst open into the dim darkness. A red shoulder loomed over him with its battered plating and stripped paint. The distant motor rumbled again and pulled the hatch right off. A bright light shone through the new opening into Ryuki's eyes. He raised his hand to block the light from his unaccustomed eyes. A pair of hands emerged from the bright white light and grabbed onto his arm.

Sounds of labor reached his ears. Loud voices spoke over him while he stayed seated. Then a strong tug pulled him up. More hands grasped onto him . One more heave pulled him right out and into the relatively crisp air. Cold water splashed on his face with a few drops reaching his parched throat.

Light tapping on his face soon turned to hard slaps. He coughed a bit of fuel out and gasped for air. Sight and hearing cascaded into sensory overload before he could adjust to his return to the living world. "LT , how many fingers am I holding".

Ryuki blurted out several numbers that weren't close to the amount of fingers being flashed in front of him. "Alright, he's alive but we're gonna need to get evac , like right now" , the communications officer said. Ryuki recognized his face and blurted out to him "Barry, we need to haul this crate up to the surface".

"Sir , we got two units left functional. There is no way we can haul this thing on our own", Barry replied as he applied a splint to Ryuki's neck. Strength returned to Ryuki's voice. "Call down an orbital strike" ,he said.

They were stunned. Barry shook his head, while Ross sat with his jaw slack. "To hell with that man,I want outta this place" screamed Ken. Karin, the field technician stood there with a grim look on her face as she put the plasma cutter back into her repair kit.

"If we can't get out of here with this crate then we'll blow it up and everything else around us. That's the alternative", he said trying to convince himself.

The Earth Federation had formed after the nuclear war had wiped out half the planet. It launched the first fleet of sub-light ships to colonize the stars, along with the EFSF. In under a hundred years a wide network of colonies were encompassed under the Earth Federation's tight grip. The colonies suffered under the iron fist of the EFSF.

A faction of indignant colonists formed their own military to fight for independence. They called themselves the Zeonic Confederacy. Their elite troops, the Jade Falcons ,were notoriously cruel and destructive. The Jade Falcons deftly used the experimental NEXT mechs to decimate the aging Federation forces.

While the EF still used the aging battlemechs that it had for centuries, Zeon progressed to advanced humanoid robotics. They built their machines with more flexibility than even the Mad Kat couldn't fight off. While the batlemechs would run out of ammunition, the Zeon's mechanized armors would scavenge the battlefield and steal weapons right from the dead hulks. Their small forms allowed them to dodge many of even the fasted battlemechs. Many a fleet footed Raven met doom at the barrel of a Zaku II mechanized armor, out maneuvered decisively. And where guns and missiles were spent , the iron fist would mete out punishing wounds with the Zeonic beam sabers and vibroaxes. The Heat Hawk proved itself as the symbol of Zeonic might.

Many colonies perished in the ensuing war. Neither side seemed to care much of the lives caught in the cross fire. The colonists were left to fight for themselves with no hope or help. The glimmer of a bright future turned dark and rusted under the thundersteps of the massive warmachines. Ryuki knew well what that felt. He watched as his future was crushed. The war ignited in him a righteous indignation that took him to the frontlines of the war.

The Minovsky reactor ,hidden deep underground, thus became Zeon's final blow at the Earth Federation. The armored cores of the Jade Falcons were to house the minovosky generator and lead the rest of the armored fist to victory. Ryuki wouldn't let that happen.

"We either get this out or blow it. Im not leaving without this" Ryuki reiterated. Barry went over to Ryuki, still laid out on the floor. "Ryu, my AT is in pieces. We don't have any other radio that could reach up to the comm-sat. We'll have to hit the surface if you want to call down the strike" , he said while checking Ryuki again for wounds.

While they spoke Ross and Karin looked around the nearly vacant chamber. They were curious of the strange silence of the room. "LT, why is this box sitting out here like this? There weren't any defenses other than this AC. I don't get it", Karin said with Ross emphatically agreeing.

The entrance began to close shut behind a matte gray aperture. The sounds of fans blowing air began to echo through the cavernous chamber. "Ah damn it!" Ryuki yelled. Puffs of greenish-white gas crawled down the sides of the chamber from ducts high up near the ceiling. "All right, three to each AT. It'll be a tight fit but the NBC systems should take care of the gas." They scrambled to the last two functioning C-dogs. Although each had a single folding seat for an extra passenger , the seating was dangerously tight. An ill-fit would have left the pilots with little room to use the control surfaces.

"Alright, look for any other ways out. We have limited ammunition left and I am not sure if what we do have would do a thing against that aperture".

They raced around the black metal perimeter frantically scanning for another way out. Grates that were too small. Ports that were too high. The exhaust from there walkers reacted with the gas to turn into a thin layer of green tinted dust . They continued to spin the tracks without a sign of another way out.

The green dust that lay on the ground shifted like snow on a windy day. The tiny particulates fell into small ,thin tracks that encircled the shipping container. Soon enough the outline became sharp and distinct enough for Ryuki to notice it. "Look to the right, there's some kind of outline forming under that container. I think it might be some kind of freight lift".

Their rubberized tracks screeched as they raced towards the container. The lines confused them though. What's a freight elevator doing in a giant room that's filled with nothing, Ryuki wondered. "This doesn't seem right. If this elevator is here then why is the crate still here?" Ross asked.

Ryuki responded tersely, "Because there's a very good chance that whatever's in there could make a mess of anything that gets near it. They keep it here so that it doesn't screw around with any mission critical hardware and I think we're about to see why", he finished gruffly.

The ground rumbled under them but to their surprise the crate began to glow at its corners. "The EM detector is reading about 300 teslas. Something is powering up inside that thing", Karin said from behind Ryuki. The walls of the container shuddered. A loud crash emanated from inside it then a pounding that slowly pried apart the container walls.

A sudden jolt pushed their C-dogs back. The bolts holding the walls burst from their seats amidst blue flames. The top of the container slowly peeled back with the shriek of bending metal accompanying it. Sparks erupted from the curled top slamming into the ground. All the other walls soon fell with it.

Standing before them was forty meter tall behemoth. Its eyes blazed gold and its "face" was like that of an ancient samurai. A shining gold V topped its head. The dark blue and white body was beset with thruster ports and its back contained oversized thrust nozzles. In its left hand was a massive shield and in the right , a bizarre rifle. "The EM field is coming from that gun. Oh frak it's a capital ship class rail gun!" Karin yelled.

The forward body of the rifle split into two rails. Electricity arcs ran up and down between them. Blistering white light poured out of the crevices and panel lines of the rifle. A low hum began to grow louder with each passing second. "Disperse!" Ryuki yelled.

Maneuvering around the mech revealed a shoulder mounted pack that seemed to provide energy to the rifle. Swinging freely was a dark red cable that snaked its way down into the rail gun, ."Ammo check!" Ryuki yelled through the radio. His machine had only six 40 mm shells left and two missiles in its pod. Barry's was down to four rockets and one full magazine for his auto-rifle. "Alright, aim for that pack! Keep away from its rifle. If that thing goes off then everything in this room is gonna come crashing down on us!" Ryuki yelled urgently.

Rubberized tracks squeeled as the AT's pressed forward at full speed. Each took an opposite side to attack, forcing the mech to ignore one of them. Ryuki snatched a glimpse of the power pack and almost immediately pressed down on the trigger. Fire burst from his cannon followed by a streaking dual tandem warhead. Its pointed noise raced towards the pack but the mech turned slightly. An explosion erupted at the wall at the far end, the round meeting solid wall at the end of its travel.

The clumsy robot samurai adjusted its torso towards Ryuki. A concussive wave buffeted the mech as Barry's rockets slammed into its back. He let loose a barrage from his auto-rifle. The rythmic popping of the propellent rang through the chamber. Each shell barely missed the mech's body.

"This frakking targeting computer!" Barry cursed. Ryuki slipped behind the mech a good distance. Two more shells raced from the barrel of his cannon. One slammed into the skirt armor and another hitting the back of its knee. The mech lurched forward and slammed down its wounded knee. The shield propped it up from the ground to keep from falling on its belly.

Another pair of shells flew through the air and met the gun-arm's elbow while the other went wide and passed by the mech. The gun-arm elbow now leaked hydraulic fluid and sparks , its motion locked up by the damage it received. "Sweet Lincoln's mullet, a single one of those shells would have perforated a land strider. How the frak did this thing survive?" Barry yelled out, not expecting an answer.

Barry had long since emptied his rockets and was left with less than half a magazine left. His change in firing patterns alerted the mech pilot that Barry had little munitions left. It turned its torso towards him and lofted the rifle onto the shield ,using it like a tripod. A flurry of curses rang through the radio comm.

Ryuki had one shell left and a pair of missiles. His goal was to either destroy the gun or disable the the power supply,. He ran his AT in a wide oval shape then sharply turning towards the rear of the mech. He fired his two missiles at the damaged arm and leg. The first missile bounced off the arm plating without detonating. The second missile slammed into damaged knee . Fire sprouted out of the dismembered knee. Loud whirring from the other limbs meant it was attempting to support itself with its none damaged parts. But the impact had left it tottering towards the ground.

Ryuki fired off his last shell at the backpack.

Throughout history, armored vehicles were always weakest from behind . The pointed tip of the warhead pierced through the thin armor under the backpack. The force of impact liquified the copper core. Momentum forced the liquid copper into right through the second layer of streams of molten copper finally reached their destination and exploded , tearing apart the innards viciously. Sparks burst from the many holes left by the shrapnel that pierced the armored skin.

"Talk about a lucky shot!" Ross yelled from behind Ryuki. Ryuki's tension eased. Sweat that built up on his brow evaporated. His palms were slippery from anxiousness but soon dried once the waves of anxiety passed. "Hey ,check that out" Barry called over the comm.

A hatch unfolded from the chest. Inside it was an array of controls and a flickering omnidirectional holographic screen. It wrapped around the pilots chair , like a virtual reality display. "Fancy stuff, anyone taking pictures?" Ross said half-jokingly. Karin had already brought out her helmet cam to record the interior. "This is great stuff. This is beyond anything we have", she said.

'Hey Ryu, I think you might want to check this out!" Barry yelled out. Kurz, the recon pilot, had spotted hatch on the back open up. A boxy container rolled out on a set of rails. He was spooked by the light glow it gave off and brought Barry over to look. The mind latched onto the shape and the glow. No other explanation could be given for this enigma. It was the reactor.

Ryuki walked briskly to the rear of the mech. Fingers pointed up towards the back. There it was, Ryuki thought. Despite all the damage wrought on the machine, its reactor remained undamaged. "Alright, lets pack this thing up and get the hell out".

Barry and Ryuki rushed back into the AT's. Each fired off the rocket-claws to attach to the reactor. Careful tugs pulled the box off the rails and down to the ground. The others began to build a net to carry the reactor on the back of Ryuki's AT.

A series of improvised pulleys were lofted onto Ryuki's scarred machine. Flakes of armor fell off the frame revealing deep burn marks and jagged scars. The pulleys were hoisted onto the arms and then connected to the reactor. The others, with the help of Barry's AT, pulled the reactor onto the backpack. Ropes were wrapped around the waist and shoulders tightly so that the reactor reactor would not bounce inside the netting.

"Everythings secure!" Karin yelled to Ryuki through the external phone mounted inside a panel on the leg. After a few more checks , he was sure that they were ready.

They rigged the remaining weapons into an impromptu bomb. Using gunpowder from the auto-rifle rounds and unexploded rocket warheads, they built an impressive explosive device. When the reactor has finally been secured, the AT's carried the bomb over to the armored aperture that blocked their way out.

It had only been two hours since they wrecked the mech. Logically, if no one came down to check why contact was lost to the NEXT, it meant that no one was coming back. Ryuki didn't think that perhaps the time was spent marshaling troops after Captain Shiryu's team was slaughtered.

The freight elevator cover lifted up from the floor and swung away. Loud clanging echoed from the deep chasm. Ryuki cursed loudly , venturing into incoherence. "Blow it now!" he yelled. The heads of several NEXT units popped above the elevator entrance. They were followed by Clan battlemechs and two full platoons of Elemental battle armor.

The first shots were fired almost simultaneously to the bomb exploding. The rounds slammed into the flying debris ,creating a massive bright orange fireball and a back draft that pushed the AT's into the tunnel. They took the opportunity to ignite the rocket boosters on their legs to speed away from the incoming hostiles.

The smoking debris flew ahead of them and bounced along the ground. Burning embers clung to their machines as they raced towards the shaft. Missiles streaked towards them, their trails twirling between pillars of smoke and falling ceiling. One crashed above them, causing the tunnel to partially collapse. Another missile slammed into the obstruction to clear the tunnel once more.

The NEXT units fired off their rail-guns but were impeded by the ceiling debris. Their shots exploded prematurely against the walls of the collapsing tunnel.

A shaft of light appeared in front of them like a beacon of hope. They raced towards it with their rocket-claws ready to fire up towards the sky. Then the shadows moved mechanically.


	3. Chapter 3

A hot wave of super heated air blasted them from behind. The walls melted around them as shells,missiles and energy beams tore through the tunnel. The shadows ahead of them leaped into a raucous dash , kicking up debris clouds behind them. "UP!" Ryuki yelled. The outstretched arms of the AT's exploded into white plums of rocket exhaust. The rocket-claws burst through the dark clouds towards the snarled girders above. The jaws rang against the steel girders as they clamped down tight. Bright sparks jumped from the arms as the motors spun up furiously. One last boost from the leg thrusters lofted the units up into the air before the motors took over.

They raced up past jagged exposed plating and burning wreckage of a freight elevator. Rockets racked up with them , slamming into the walls above and below them. Loose concrete walls collapsed under the intense barrage. Still more concrete vaporized into dust clouds. The AT's reconnected with their claws after ascending for 200 scorching meters. Shrapnel dotted their armor dangerously close to the pilot deck. "Keep cool ,once we get out call out for a rapid evac at LZ alpha", Ryuki said while making the best attempt to quell any fears.

Char black smoke billowed up towards the sky. The hot ash settled on their armor and left faint scorch marks. Buffeting winds of heat and fiery embers pushed and pulled them as the air pressure shifted dramatically from the intense blaze below them. One more traverse was needed to get out. Worn steel fists grasped at exposed concrete rebar while the rocket-claws reset for the final jump.

The crackling boom of rockets ricocheted through the walls and back into the pilot decks. Air whisked with the smoke into inky puffs before breaking to reveal the claws screaming towards the edge of the shaft. Sudden bursts of beam energy lashed out at their position. The scything streams laced the walls with super hot plasma.

One plasma lance sliced through Ryuki's manipulator arm. Sirens and klaxons blared ,flashing lights strobed and the computer yelled its warnings to him. He kicked off the side of the wall once the claw grabbed clear of the entrance. A glancing strike of a heavy round pushed him back into the wall. Another kick pushed him off the ledge just as a rocket exploded where his torso once was. The hot shrapnel pierced through the deck walls. The shard lodged itself bellow his feet , just close enough to his toe to radiate heat up through his leg. Crashing girders fell past them down bellow with the glint of their pursuers coming closer.

Grinding gears set loose and the motor screeched into action. Both units raced up out of the depths with the blue sky painting their exit. Rockets ignited for the last push up into open air. The tunnel rapidly disappeared behind them until the launched right out into the jungle. Ground quaked when their AT's crashed feet first. "Call it in!" Ryuki yelled.

Ross connected to the stealth satellite orbiting hundreds of kilometers above them. The prerecorded message requested an orbital strike on their position and an immediate evac-ship to LZ Alpha, nearly fifty kilometers away. Gears grinded away again as the tank treads scraped the earth. Speed was of the essence for their survivial. Oribital strikes were fast,nearly instantaneous and the death they rained down just as quick. Dozens of metal stakes were stored inside a revolving chamber on an orbiting stealth satellite. Its smooth multifaceted surface was perfect to deflect RADAR and light, leaving it like a dark spot floating in an ocean of ink and dust .

Each round loaded into the center of four rails of superconducting meta-steel after being pushed out from the revolving drum. The magnetic field firmly gripped the round and held it motionless. Solar energy stored in a series of giant batteries pulsed into monolithic super capacitors. An instantaneous throb of electricity lapped onto the rails to magnetize the solid metal sabot. A silver flash slipped out from the barrel of the rail gun against the backdrop of a looming star.

The spike exploded through the atmosphere with a spiraling blue flame trailing behind it. Air ignited around the thin body as friction attempted to slow down the determined munition. Jets of air burst into flame upon impacting with the projectile. Soon the fireball caught the attention of those in its path. Klaxons blared in the crumbling base. Captain Shiryu had made sure to leave not one roof standing in his death throes.

Ryuki's team had only traveled a kilometer when they heard the sirens. They were still too close to the base. An ensuing explosion would tear apart what was left of their AT's. "We need to find some place under ground. We have may a few minutes to get out of the blast radius" , Barry implored

An idea surfaced amongst the flurry of panic and anxiety. He was reminded of the Florida alligator, a veritable dinosaur that survived Earths fifth extinction event. "Underwater, we're going to wade into the deepest lake,pond whatever and stay there", he said with confidence.

"Thats a great idea except for the fact that we are sitting in perforated tin cans. How exactly will we survive drowning?" Karin said with sincerity. "Weld every leak you see" he said. Muffled floated up from the emergency seats behind him.

Emergency repair kits were stored in a bulkhead above the pilot seat. Inside were welding kits, emergency flairs and colored smoke grenades. Shields around the mini-welders were purported to protect eyesight but Karin covered her eyes anyway with a small crack between her fingers giving her just enough to see where the welder was.

Rivers crisscrossed the terrain with one prominent river cutting through undulating hills. Its stream carved through of a double crested mountain. "We're going in there. Prepare for submersion" , Ryuki said over the static from his damaged control panels. A sudden boom crashed through the air , a sign of the impending explosion.

The AT's tore through the jungle and dived into the river when another boom blasted through the hardened steel confines of the pilots deck. Splashes of water ringed through the armor when they jumped in. There was no time to measure depth , or to even finish sealing up the cracks and holes. "God damnit why didnt anyone put sealant into these kits!" Karin said then yelled in frustration.

The old warhorses had none of the amenities of more modern weaponry such as the Zephyr or Black Mamba. Self healing armor was kept for more expensive tools than the old Calamity Dogs. Though hardy and versatile , they were far from advanced. Technology nearly a hundred years old made up most of the components. Oddly, its what made them so hardy. NEXT units, high tech weapons with exotic reactors and electromagnetic joints, were vulnerable to radiation so were never deployed into space. Innumerable amounts of systems were designed with such close tolerances that any where that wasn't like Earth would require major maintenance . The White Glint was unprepared for the higher gravity on this planet. Its engines couldn't muster enough thrust to lift it up into the air as it could on Earth and its heavy limbs limited its agility.

The C-Dogs didn't care. Ferrofluid hydraulics powered legs lifted without so much as a whisper of labor. Stumpy legs made for better than expected support against the high gravity environment. And even gaping holes couldn't keep them the jet turbine clogged shut ,the batteries took over. And when the batteries die, there were always the folding dirt bikes stored in the thigh compartments. Blown arms and perforated engines were obstacles easily overcome by redundant systems and sheer hardiness. Though ,submersion in water was a niggling oversight in the C-Dog design that Ryuki and his crew rapidly appreciated.

"Another leak! Frak!" Barry yelled into Ryuki's ear. Water dripped in at first, then became tiny streams as the pressure began to build up outside. "We are going too deep!" someone yelled. "Be glad we hit the bottom of the river already" Ryuki yelled back. Churning water pounded against the hulls with loud clanging as the river rushed in.

Light burst through the remaining cracks in the hulls. A low rumble climbed up through the river and into the machines. Its magnitude increased until the cracking wind and burning trees overtook the sound of the rapids. Above them , the air combusted and a massive pressure wave toppled the blazing forest neatly like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.

Super hot steam threatened to turn the mechs into mobile boilers. "Vent, get out and vent!" Ryuki yelled. The leg boosters ignited. Like fish ,they jumped up onto the the river bank. The ground cracked under the feet with the sound of broken glass. Silica had fused under the burning glance of fiery light . Ryuki attempted to use the camera eyes on the C-Dog but all he could see was a wave of dirt and dust approaching.

"Brace for impact!" Ryuki yelled. Not since his first deployment had he spoken only in exclamations for such a long duration. The high winds licked at the AT's with fine dust and debris. It was difficult to tell but Ryuki could see the faint outline of a mushroom cloud behind the thick walls of flying dirt. The approaching pressure wave bashed the C-Dogs down to the ground.

Air filtration had been compromised. Life support systems were on life support. Few solutions remained to keep them from choking to death in the soupy dust bowl. "Alright, you guys know the drill, gas masks". The C-Dogs were notorious for their susceptible support systems. Versatile machines tended to be unsafe. Unlike other units ,they had gas masks prepared.

General system faults light up on the dashboard. Motors whined as dust choked their air cooling ducts. Air scrubbers were rendered useless by the impact. Radio communication was futile. Waiting was all they could do until the mushroom cloud cleared.

Distress beacons had been deployed but it was in a sea of radio static. There were others too ,beacons from troops who survived the explosion. Many were automated so there was the possibility that no one at the base survived. Anyone that did survive was bound to be slowly dying from inhaling the floating debris. Gas masks couldn't last long as their filters would clog up quickly. Ryuki had already used up two filters.

Barry scanned the frequencies for any sign of activity. Aside from the distress signals, he found very little proof that anything was alive. Even when he thought he had heard something, it was dismissed as interference from the dust cloud. Attempts of contacting anything outside the cloud was mired by broken electronics and the slowly draining batteries.

There was little hope that a dropship would rescue them. No ship could have flown there without destroying its engines in the shifting brown swirls of dirt and ash. The beacons would very well be their grave markers if nothing was done soon. "Hey man, at least we finished the mission right?" , Ken said with a telltale cough.

Steady breezes of cooling air flowed over their disabled hulks. Cloaked in dust, the sun had been covered in darkness. Temperatures were falling imperceptibly but enough so to change the weather. With no power ,the team had no way to protect themselves from the oncoming frost. Light played inside the clouds, leaving gleaming hints that the system star was burning bright above them. But not a single warming glance would reach them, at least Ryuki thought so.

Cracks appeared in the brown pall. Tiny bolts of light appeared then dissipated as the shroud swirled. The cool wind met hot squalls at the fringes of the dust cloud to create roving bands of funnels . Distant drawls of thunder vibrated through the scorched armor. Ryuki moved the C-Dogs head forward as much as possible to see a storm at the edge of the impact zone. Its slow crawl brought it slightly closer for every swear heard from Barry.

Unknown amounts of time passed as they sat nearly motionless. All battery powered equipment was shut off, which left Barry silently infuriated. They had not seen the outside and hadn't noticed the mounds of dirt layered atop their machines. Another crack of thunder marked the storms proximity. There was a fleeting hope that it would clear out the air.

Pattering drops of water brought a peaceful calm to the impact zone. Rain ebbed and surged with the crepitating thunder. Not a single thought could rise against the cacophony of rhythmic showers. It was unfortunate then that they didn't realize that the ground was slowly liquefying under them.

Rain brought flash floods to many of the regions rivers. The one they lay beside was already cresting. Ken's curiosity had saved them though. In his restlessness , he forced his way through the emergency hatch. He pushed and kicked open to see the dark clouds and strong rains. While the others yelled and cursed he took a step onto solid ground, or so it would have been had the rain not arrived. "Holy frak, we're sinking!" he yelled.

The main hatches blew open. They crawled out as quickly as possible in case the mechs had sunk to far. They found the wet mounds on top and the sinking ground below. Mud had splattered all over to make it seem that the mechs were merely rocks sitting on a river mire. "Alright, the rain looks like it did its job, I guess" Ryuki said hesitantly. The rolling dust clouds had given way to misty fog and water engorged darkness.

Gas masks were taken off to test the air. A few sniffs and a single cough signaled that the dust had been washed away. Another bolt of lightning flashed followed by its muffled thunder clap. "Once the rain breaks we call in for a pick up. Heavy loader probably seeing as how our mechs are stuck like boots in deep mud", Ryuki said to his aimless crew.

Karin had wandered to the inactive reactor to check for damage. No one had realized that had the reactor vessel cracked, they would have been irradiated enough to be guaranteed a slow death. Remarkably the reactor was undamaged. She wondered if the troops had made sure not to fire at it, which would have accounted for their rather lack luster aim. A few taps on the wall gave a reassuring solid thud. She had no radiation badge to check for radiation leaks but she felt confidant that it wouldn't be a problem, at least not for the short term.

They waited under one of the few trees not scorched by fire. Rain speckled leaves would float down to the ground while the branches would sway in the refreshing breeze. For a moment it seemed to that peace had settled but another crack of thunder reminded them they were still on a battlefield.

Shafts of light broke through the ebbing darkness as the rain slowly waned. It was time, Ryuki thought. Bluish green skies peaked through the breaking shroud. Drafts of cool air receded and the refreshing wind with it. Barry sauntered back into his mech and began the start up procedure. A few minutes later the radio began to pick up distress signals clearly.

An external antenna was dug out of the cold bog and positioned like a flag post. To enhance the clarity of the broadcast , a skeletal radio antenna topped the post. They manually adjusted it until Barry could maintain a direct line with the stealth satellite.

First a coded signal was sent up , in bits and pieces to confuse any interlopers. The return broadcast asked for a key phrase. "All is clear in the bell house" was the answer. Few minutes passed until a voice yelled at them through the radio panel. Their commanding officer was enraged that they had called down an orbital strike. He used the word court martial quite liberally. Authorization was circumvented, orders befouled. Punishments were in order for every member of the team. Captain Shiryu would be notified. Ryuki found that grimly humorous.

END


End file.
